Nigeria says growth not meeting needs of poor

[YahooNews]

Nigeria's finance minister offered a sobering view of the country's economy on Monday, saying growth has mostly benefited the rich and failed to generate enough jobs. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala told a forum of business leaders that the country's economy likely grew at 6.7 percent in 2013, in line with the seven percent average over the last decade. Her audience at a Lagos hotel ballroom included executives from a range of sectors, among them Africa's richest man, Aliko Dangote, a tycoon with interests in cement, food and more recently energy. Nigeria, Africa's top oil producer, is widely expected to surpass South Africa in the coming years as Africa's largest economy.